Painting Flowers
by werewolf girl8907
Summary: based on Forgotten Portrait Ending, nine years later Ib has decided to go to an art college even though memories of the gallery are still fresh in her mind. Though she can't seem to remember who she was with. When she arrives at the college she is shocked to find out that she is being sent to a dorm house for the outcasts, for what reason though? few OC's, alternating POV
1. Welcoming, Ib

**A/N: Well.. Let's see where do I begin… First of all, I would like to state that this story nothing more then a way to practice my writing. I do have a couple ideas for the actual plot but I cannot promise you that this will be finished. Aside from that, welcome to my first ever Ib fanfic. I discovered this game from (like many others) Pewdiepie and Cry. I was immediately in love with the idea and soon found myself lost in the story. I decided to write myself a story of what happened after, specifically, the forgotten portrait ending.**

**TO CLEAR SOME STUFF UP!**

**If there is any similarity in this story to others, I apologize. I have not read more then one or two Ib fanfics and I guess it was just an off chance, maybe I read something and unconsciously put it to words in this story. I will not be changing anything though, you must understand this is not a serious story.**

**Also, I have never been to college. I do not know the normal workings of it in anyway. I feel I should, though I'm only in my second year of high school. This is all just me guessing what it is like.**

**I will end this extremely long author note now. I must apologize, there was much to say this time. Thank you much for reading, I know most of you will skip over it. So to those few that did read this- I thank you again.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ib nor anything referenced in this story. All rights go to their respectful owners.**

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Painting Flowers

Chapter One: Welcoming

**Ib**

I gaped up at the old Victorian house, it looked like something straight out of an aged horror story. The kind that had mysteries and ghosts lurking around every corner. It had to be three of four stories tall with a tower or two to add yet another floor. Every wall had at least three old dusty windows that were lined with cracks and framed by peeling white painted wood.

From where I stood on the front lawn, I could see two chimneys jutting out randomly from the huge house. The facade was dressed in old peeling gray-green paint that looked as though it hadn't been retouched since it was built. There was multiple decks that had been painted a blinding white but had faded to nearly grey over the years, it made the building look tangled in all it's archways and decks.

It was hard for me to believe that I was going to be living in this historical looking house for the next couple months. Though it was a lot nicer then the normal dorms I had seen on campus, it seemed to be more of an exciting experience. Especially since the huge rambling house was co-ed and each room had up to three dorm mates.

When I had first arrived at my college of choice I had went straight to the dorm section of campus, leaving my overly worried parents to deal with the technical stuff. I wanted to make sure that I had a room and quickly unpack my few belongings. But as I walked around looking for room 13b I found that it was already taken. How terrible that meeting had been. The girls shot me a glare and had shooed me off muttering something about me being a freak.

I was lucky to find Jackie, a short blonde girl with a dozen different colored streaks painted in her hair. Her big brown eyes had settled on me, noticing my worry and confusion instantly.

"Are you Ib?" She had said to me, her tone filled with excitement.

"Uh.. Yeah, maybe you could help me find my dorm? I'm assigned to 13b but the room is filled already." I had been caught off guard by her knowing my name, but the nonetheless, I needed help.

A bright smile filled her face, "come with me Ib, you'll be staying with us outcasts."

Now I was standing outside what had been designated as the freaks dorms. Jackie was bouncing in her spot next to me. Obviously over excited to have me here. Yet I couldn't quiet understand why I was being assigned to this area of campus. Was I really that strange? Maybe it had been my entrance submissions, they had been slightly off but all my artistic stuff was always slightly odd. Just a reflection of what I had been through all those years ago.

I shifted my weight to my other foot, getting a better grip on my bags as I glanced around the grounds of the house. The grass was mowed down evenly and a towering pine trees closed my view off from the rest of the campus. Though I could see the buildings tops through the branches off in the distance. I knew that just outside the pine trees was also a black intricate metal fence. It was as if we were cut off from everyone else, like they were afraid of us.

I was starting to feel more and more uneasy about entering the house.

"Ib! Come on, lets go in and get your side of the room set up." Jackie said. I turned back to her to see that bright excited smile again, her big brown eyes seemed to glow with happiness.

There wasn't anything wrong with this girl, sure she dressed in very colorful clothing that added a splash of color to the otherwise dull grey of the scenery but that didn't mean anything. Why was she stuck in here.

"A-Alright." I waved in front of me with a friendly smile, "lead the way."

She beamed at me again and quickly moved towards the door, a hop in her step that only further proved how excited she was to have me here. How did she know me in the first place?

The inside of the house was just as magnificent as the outside. The ceilings arched high over head and the huge windows brought in the calming grey tones from outside that made it easier for some who had anxiety problems such as myself to settle down. All the furniture was obviously worn down to a comfortable looking state and was bathed in a dark maroon with varying colored blankets draped over the back of the chairs and couches. One of the fireplaces of the building was set out in the living room, a large one that already had a small fire going. Though there was no one around to enjoy it's warmth.

"Hey Jackie?" I asked as I noticed this, "Where's everyone else that lives here?"

"I'm not sure, maybe off getting dinner ready, or out for a walk." I glanced at her she looked off in the distance. She looked back at me and smiled again. "Come on, this way's the dorms."

I nodded and followed her up the stairs, making sure to keep my bags close to me to avoid knocking them against the old cracked looking railing.

Upstairs was empty also, but I could tell that there were some people in their dorms, though all the doors were wide open. I could hear acoustic music playing from one of the rooms, it was soft but loud enough to be heard from the hallway. I smiled, glad to know that some people accepted the sound of a lone guitar. Maybe I wouldn't have to worry about my own strumming being to loud for my neighbors or room mate.

Jackie led me to a room at the end of the hallway, next to a staircase that led up. She opened the door, the only one that had been closed in the hallway. On the side of the door frame there was a gold plate that had my room number on it. 13b.

I entered the room, bathed by the scent of rain and I realized the window was open, it had began to rain outside, quietly pattering down on the roof. The light blue curtains folded at the side of the window moved slightly in the light breeze that blew into the room. It was extremely calming.

I surveyed my surroundings, I obviously had room mates as the bed in the center had been taken. I already knew who it was judging by the bright yellow comforter that had replaced the typical light grey one that was on the other two beds. The headboards of the beds were made up of three shelving units and this one's was filled with books and colorful bows and boxes of makeup.

"So, I'm guessing you're my roommate?" I asked, turning back to see Jackie bouncing in place again, the bright smile on her face silently told me the answer.

"Yup! I can't wait to get to know you better! I've heard _soo _much about you already." She said, laughing giddily and sitting down on her bed. She pointed to the bed on her right that was void of any distinguishing objects. "That's your side of the room. Feel free to do whatever you like with it. But I'd wait to ask Joey to put up anything on the walls."

I sat down on my bed, relishing in the softness of the mattress and I smiled. Any worries about a bad dorm room leaving my thoughts. Then I realized what Jackie had said. "Joey? Who's that?" I asked.

She laughed again, "Our other room mate of course!"

We had a boy room mate? I glanced over at the other bed to see nothing much set up anywhere. All I saw on the headboard was a framed picture and an old DS with a few game cartridges next to it. On the shelves were textbooks required for classes here. My parent's were going to bring me those later on, that reminded me to fish out my cell from my jean pockets and I set it down on the headboard. My first personal item to rest there.

"Well, I'm going to go look for everyone else. I'll let you unpack by yourself." She stood, "and oh… If one of the boys come in here just say painting and they'll leave you alone."

I blinked, confused and I looked up at her. "Why would they come in here? What does painting mean here?" I asked.

"They're really excited to meet you too. New girl, their college guys. You know how it goes." she laughed, "and painting is just code here. We can talk about it later though. See you soon." She waved and left the room, leaving the door wide open.

I frowned as she walked away, obviously things were going to be weird here. I would have to get use to it.

I stood from the bed and glanced around the room again, I noticed that each part of the room had it's own desk pressed against the same wall the door was on. Jackie's was covered with various things including a laptop with a neon orange case, a few dolls and her own textbooks laying half off the desk.

Joey's desk was just like the headboard, organized. A plain white apple laptop was set neatly in the center of the desk with a mouse placed carefully to the side. A couple school necessary stuff was set next to it like pencils and pens. On the side against the wall there was a painting of rolling Italian scenery, it was expertly crafted and looked real. Which only made me shiver, I loved art. Of course I did, I was at an art college, I had to like it a lot to be studying it. But every now and then a painting or sculpture will still give me the creeps.

I sighed and turned to strip my guitar case from my back and set it on the bed gently. I smoothed over the familiar black fabric before reaching down to grab my bags. I opened one of the clothing bags and pulled out a sweatshirt to throw on. I preferred it to be slightly colder in rooms but this was a little much, between the old house already having it's own draft and the window being open I knew I would be in sweaters a lot. Good thing I packed a lot.

I went to my other bag and decided I would set up my desk now rather then later. I liked to organize my things and I knew doing so would kill any of the lasting nerves from the trip here. I pulled out my own laptop and went over to the desk. When I set it down I finally realized that my desk wasn't completely empty.

Set off to the side was a vase filled with fresh looking red roses. I gasped, stumbling back a step. Did these people really know me well enough to know that I always had roses near by? It was something of a calming agent to me despite that they had been something of more dread to me while stuck in the nightmarish gallery nine years ago.

I reached up to touch the rose that was in my hair at the moment, it was starting to wilt. I normally just wore a fake clip but today I had chose to wear a real one just from the stress of moving into a dorm. I pulled it from behind my ear and placed the bent up steam into the vase. The color was nowhere near as vibrant as the others.

I sighed, storing away questions that were begging to pop up in my mind. I would ask Jackie later on. Right now I needed to finish unpacking things.

I walked slow down the staircase. I had changed into sweatpants and a black sweater with a red tank underneath. My hair was tied back with one of the roses twisted into my hair again. I peeked around the corner to see that there was a couple people sitting in the living room now. Jackie, a girl with long brown hair and a guy with long black hair that hung in his face were seated on the couch and chair talking and laughing. I sighed, I wasn't much of a social person but I did need to meet some new people. I stepped out from my hiding and was relieved when Jackie announced my presence.

"Oh! Hi Ib! You done unpacking?" She asked, standing to greet me in the doorway.

I smiled at her, "Yeah, all finished."

"Good, do you mind us seeing what you did?"

"Sure, you can go look." I said, looking back at the other two who were seated and watching. The long haired girl stood up and greeted me also, holding her hand out to me. I shook it.

"Hi Ib, I'm Joey. I'll also be living with you." she gave me a soft smile, I could tell she was a lot more fit to my pace then Jackie being so upbeat and happy so often.

"Oh, hi Joey. Nice to meet you." I had thought she was a boy, I felt bad now. Of course we weren't allowed to have a guy in a dorm. I don't know why I had even considered it.

Jackie and Joey moved for the stair case continuing whatever they had been chatting about before I came into the room. I glanced back to the guy who was sitting in the chair, he was watching me with a stern gaze that made me feel uncomfortable.

I walked further into the room, "would you like to come?" I asked, trying to be polite, this guy was friends with my roommates and he had been smiling and laughing earlier. Now he had something close to a scowl on his face. "I'm Ib, what's your name?"

He stood, "I'm Chase." he walked toward me and shook my hand, "nice to meet you too Ib. I've heard a lot about you." A smile graced his lips and I smiled myself. For a moment there I had thought he was silently judging me as a bad person.

Chase was a head taller then me, though I was short for an 18 year old he made me feel even less. His long black hair reminded me of someone else's but I wasn't sure quiet who it was. He had curled spike gauges and grey eyes.

I didn't mean to sound whorish but I had always gotten along a lot better with guys rather then with girls, I wondered if Chase was going to be my best friend here. Though I could tell that Jackie would be easy for me to get to know too, same with Joey. It was nice to think that I may have some friends here. I guess the people in this house couldn't possibly be that strange. If I was getting along with them at least.

We ran up the stairs, no words were spoken but I was surprised by how calm the quiet was. This building was just calming, shockingly. I was begging to feel extremely optimistic about being here for a while.

Up in the dorm room Jackie and Joey were marveling over my decorating skills. I had hung up a few band posters despite what Jackie had told me and my comforter was black with a light blue rose design that stretched over the fabric. A matching cut blue rose pillow that rested in the corner against the wall.

The entire bottom shelf of my headboard was packed end to end with books of art and fiction. The second had a collection of framed pictures and the top had some of my handmade intricate little glass sculptures. On top of everything I had my iPod home that double as a radio and cd player and cd's lined up next to it. The very corner had a painting I had done myself of two roses. It would be obvious to anyone exactly how important roses were to me.

Jackie started clapping her hands and turned to me, jumping in place. "Oh Ib I love it so much!"

Joey nodded, "yeah, I like it too." she glanced up at the posters and I chewed up my lip worried she wouldn't be happy that I hadn't asked about hanging things. "I don't know any of these bands but the posters are cool. I have no problem with having cute boys up on the wall." She laughed.

I laughed too, surprised by her response. "Thanks guys."

Chase rested his hand on my shoulder, making me tense. "I like the rose thing. Even though we all have a lot of reason to obsess over them ourselves I think you're the only person I've seen who's held onto that." He smiled down at me.

"Wait.. What?" I asked, his words made no sense, it almost sounded as if he knew about the gallery. How could he? I was sure that most of the people who were in the room were aware of the art museum not to far from here but the Guertena exhibition had only lasted a month. What were the chances anyone here had seen it. Plus I was sure there was no way that anyone but me and whoever that guy was could have possibly been stuck in the fabricated world.

Jackie gasped and turned back to me and Chase, "Chase! Shhh! Not until dinner." She laughed.

Dread found it's way to me, I took a step back. Were they… Were they all fake? Was I stuck in another painting somehow? Could they possibly be like Mary?

_Mary? Who is Mary?_

"Jackie.. Chase already gave it away, look your scaring her to death. You know better." Joey said after sighing.

Jackie frowned for the first time I had seen her and she nodded, "I guess your right." She looked back at me, "Ib, we know about the fabricated world in the Guertena exhibit."

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**A/N: Oh dear me. What have I done?! I deleted Garry from Ib's memory but she still remembers the gallery?! How dare I! don't worry, there's a reason that this is listed under Ib/Garry romance. This isn't going to be about Ib falling in love with this made up OC Chase or anything. Just hold on for Chapter Two. It'll twist things up a bit more.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	2. Breathing, Garry

**A/N: Well, here is chapter two of Painting Flowers. It would have been up sooner but I had to re-write the entire thing since it didn't fit my change in story line... Now I know I was going to say something important up here, but I can't remember what it was anymore. Oh well, I'll save you the lengthy author note this time :) Anyway, enjoy Chapter Two: Breathing.  
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**Warning: I did not read over this like I did the first chapter (though I still missed some mistakes.) So if there is problems- I apologize before hand.  
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******Disclaimer: I do not own Ib nor anything referenced in this story. All rights go to their respectful owners**

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Painting Flowers

Chapter Two: Breathing

**Garry**

I gasped, hacking and coughing over air that suddenly filled my lungs. My body convulsed for a moment, my lungs burning with the fast moving air being pushed through my raw throat. My loud coughing fit continued while pain forced me to move slightly to a more comfortable position. Though as I twisted around I realized that moving dulled the pain a little. I forced myself to stand and attempted to steady my breathing that was nothing less then hyperventilation.

"Wh…What's going on…?" I muttered, rubbing my head as memories flooded back to my mind, bringing with them a pounding headache. My limbs were weak and barely held my weight and my hands trembled violently. Everything had a dull ache as though I had just woken up after oversleeping a few hours, making my body heavy with the drug like slumber.

I moved off the wall. Blinking hard to clear the blurriness in my vision. I could barely make out my hand in front of my face for at least three minutes. My senses finally came to, dulling the pain even more.

Once I could see and hear I nearly fainted back into the blackness_. Where the hell am I?! _The hallway I stood in was dark, everything a deep shade of blue that was close enough to black to make it challenging to see. The walls had bright blue stars painted on them and although they resembled a star that a young child had drawn they seemed to glitter and shine like they were alive. I pressed my hand against the wall next to me to steady myself as I looked up. The ceiling seemed to go on forever, the drawn stars getting smaller and smaller until they looked as though they were real. Tiny glittering yellow and blue specks in the sky.

A loud thud made me jump and I turned, behind me I could see the hallway ended and the right side of the wall was missing. I took a few shaky steps forward to see that it was a staircase, the blue in the hallway looked closer to sky blue then the dark abyss that this staircase lead down too. It made me uneasy to look into, as though something were lingering at the bottom waiting for the right moment to leap from the darkness and strike me.

I shivered and stepped away from the stairs, stumbling back to the spot I had woken up at. My legs still felt boneless beneath me and I allowed myself to sit down, or rather fall against the wall since I didn't have enough strength to lower myself. Though I could feel it slowly building back. My thoughts were racing, trying to remember how I had gotten here and why everything felt so bittersweet. It almost felt as though someone extremely important was missing, but the fact that they were missing was a good thing.

I groaned at myself, pressing my fingers to my temples. "What in the world…"

I was cut off by the sound of foot steps ascending the staircase that had disturbed me. Fear clasped me and I pulled my legs in to make myself as small as possible. As I ducked my head down and pulled my jacket up over my head I realized exactly how stupid it was for me to try to hide in an empty strange hallway. I was only going to add to the absurdity of the corridor, maybe even frighten whoever it was who was coming. What if it was that person who I thought was missing in the first place?

I didn't have the courage to unfold myself though, I really felt as though I was in trouble. For some reason everything about my surroundings made me feel threatened. I didn't want to chance anything.

"Garry? Are you up here? Did you stop holding your breath finally?" The voice that called my name sounded slightly familiar, but only made the feeling of a threat greater.

The footsteps that had slowly been approaching me stopped, "Garry! Your not asleep anymore!"

I finally looked up, my eyes met big blue orbs that were looking at me joyfully. I quickly pulled myself away, trying to press back into the wall as though I could slip through it like a ghost. The little girl that kneeled in front of me had long, slightly wavy blonde hair and a green dress. There was a yellow rose placed behind her ear and the bright smile on her face was anything but nerve easing.

"Mary…" As I spoke the name the fear inside of me grew, but the little girl's face lit up.

"Yay, you remember me!" She sang.

Why was this little girl frightening me so bad, I couldn't remember why but it seemed as though she was a danger to me.

"Oh! I almost forgot." She reached into a hidden pocket on the skirt of her dress and pulled out a nearly glowing blue rose and held it out to me. I felt my jaw drop and I quickly stumbled to my feet. Taking the rose fast and stepping back from her.

I couldn't remember everything but just the sight of that rose had brought back at least a few memories. Running from deviant paintings that had come to life, holding this rose as close to me as possible to keep it safe for it embodied my life. I could remember Mary being nothing more then another one of those paintings with no mercy towards people who were in danger, as innocent as she may seem. She had taken my rose, she had killed me. Hadn't she?

_Had I woken up from not sleep but death?!_

"Mary… What did you do to my rose?" I said, my voice as low and menacing as I could make it.

"I made it better!" She gave me a blank, innocent look only a little kid could pull off. "I found it upstairs and put it in one of the vases. The petals came back really slow but it looks even prettier now."

_When the rose rots, so to will you rot away._

The line repeated it's self over and over in my head until I felt as though I'd go insane. "How long was I de… asleep, Mary?" I asked.

"A really long time." She said, dragging out the l on 'really'.

I knelt down so I was eye level with her, she was still extremely unsettling for me to be around as I continued remembering moments from before I had died. But this was important for me to know, how long have I been dead? Were people in the real world aware of how long I had been missing? There weren't that many people who would notice. A couple friends, possible one or two members of my family since they never saw me anyway, they probably wouldn't notice. But I couldn't have been gone for more then a week, right?

"How long is a really long time?" I asked again, holding her gaze sternly.

"I don't know. Just for a long time… do you know where Ib is? I haven't seen her for just as long. Do you think she got out without us?"

I fell backwards from my kneeling position. Sitting down cross legged as I heard the name. "Ib…."

"Garry… did you love her?" Mary asked, her eyes wide and questioning. "'cause it seemed like you did, and the way you say her name sounds like you do."

I gave her a soft smile as I remembered the little maroon-eyed girl, "I did care greatly for her, she was like a little sister to me." Ib was the person missing. She was the one who had managed to escape. I had given up my own rose for her life and she had gotten out. It made me happy enough that I could smile at the devilish little girl standing in front of me.

"No… not like that! I mean love as in give flowers and chocolates and hug all the time."

I only blinked, of course I didn't she was just a little girl, eleven years younger then me at that. But as I recalled everything we went through the more I doubted myself that I cared for her in only a friendly manner. I swore at myself, _don't be stupid Garry, she's nine._ I rubbed my forehead and sighed.

"You do!" Mary cheered.

"No!" I denied, looking up at her shocked, "I don't love her like that Mary." I chuckled but it was obviously strained and nervous. My only hope was that the ignorant little painted girl wouldn't notice or know what it could mean.

She eyed me carefully, "Okay… Do you know if she got out or not?"

I shook my head, "I'm not sure, but my best guess is that, yes, she did get out."

"She left us here alone?" Her voice shook, tears appearing in her eyes. I didn't think a painted girl could cry.

I let go of a slightly frustrated sigh, "Mary. She probably did, now if you don't mind. I need to spend some time alone. I was dead a couple minutes ago. Let me relax and get a grip of what is going on." I stood again and turned towards the other wall, I could already see bright stairs, shaded yellow and a lot more promising then the other black staircase.

I headed up without glancing back at Mary. I wasn't one to hold a grudge over someone's head but Mary had in fact killed me. Though she must have brought me back to life by placing my rose in a vase. I wasn't sure if I was ready to trust her, the image of her holding that palette knife against Ib was burned in my mind.

If anything it ignited a flame of anger deep in me, I didn't want Mary anywhere near me. Now that I was alive and had my rose back again I just wanted to get out of this terrible gallery. I wanted to find Ib and make sure she was safe and okay, that she wasn't going mentally insane from this place. As I climbed the stair case my eyes were glued on the floor of the room that was above me. There was something small and square glinting against the wall. I jumped up the last few steps and bent down to pick up the small metal box.

My lighter?

I felt around in my pockets to see that I had absolutely nothing on me besides the vibrant blue rose. Had Ib taken my lighter before she left? I clicked open the top and span the wheel a couple times, checking if there was any oil left. It took at least ten spins before a small flame came to life. I capped the lighter again and stuffed it into my pocket. I scanned the room and saw what the lighter had been used on. There were drawn out vines with yellow roses much like Mary's on the wall, I could tell that they had once covered a doorway but they had long been burned away. Leaving blackened stumps of vines around the frame.

I knew that this was one of the last rooms Ib had been in then, I somehow just felt it. I slipped through the doorway to see that there was a staircase going up. I didn't hesitate to climb the stairs but went slow anyway. I could tell that the room up here wasn't as cheerful as the one below with the big flowers on the wall. This one was black and as soon as I was at the top I could see a painting at the very end of the hall had been burned.

Glass littered the floor, the frame of the former painting had black scorch marks around the inner edges, there were little scraps of paper left stuffed under the blackened wood. The fire had blazed through the back of the frame and reached to the wall, leaving a dark smudge. Normally seeing a painting violated such as this one had been would upset and anger me terribly. But knowing what this place was like I couldn't muster up the feelings. It had to be done for one reason or another and I knew Ib had been the one to do it.

As I walked forward to the painting to inspect a little more I heard metal scrape across the floor and something gleamed on the ground. I looked down to see Mary's palette knife. I froze, mid step and stared down at the knife. I almost expected to see blood on the blade but it was clean. If anything it was slightly rusted by now. I bent down to pick it up and inspect it closer.

An image of Ib holding my lighter under the picture as Mary held the palette knife to her throat flashed through my mind. I tightened my grip on the little painting tool, I hadn't been there to help. I wondered if she had called for me at all, I had told her I would come running to help. I shut my eyes, I felt terrible thinking about it. I couldn't help her get out, I had been stupid.

I sighed, stuffing the palette knife into my pocket just in case Mary came looking for it again. _At least Ib's out._ I thought, brushing my fingers through my hair. I pulled my hand back to see that there was dust collected in my hair and I frowned. The question of how long had I been dead popping up again, I really wanted to know.

I shivered at the thought of being dead a few minutes ago. It was so unsettling, when I started to really think about it I started to tremble slightly. How could just putting that rose in a vase full of water bring my life back. My body obviously hadn't expected it, my lungs still burned slightly.

What if I had decayed? Was it possible in this world? I could feel my heart thundering in my chest from fear. I looked down at myself, there was no way of telling that I had been dead earlier. Thankfully, as far as I could see at least.

I glanced around the rest of the room, there were a few sketches on the walls and multiple little kid like things on the ground like coloring books and crayons and…. I screamed, falling back a few steps. Three of the gruesome dolls that had scared me more then anything else in this place were standing and watching me along the wall. I stared at them, waiting for one to make a move towards me.

"Garry? Is something wrong?" Mary appeared, running up the stairs.

I pushed myself up, brushing myself off, "I am fine Mary." I said, holding back any anger I had at her in my voice. "I am going to go look for an exit now."

"Can I come?" She asked.

"I'll come back for you if I find a way out." I lied, knowing she wouldn't catch on. I wasn't about to take her with me, I was worried something bad would come from it.

"Okay. I'm going to color then." She sang back to me and I left her alone in the room.

I was outside of the house now, having difficulty walking around not just because of how limber my legs still felt beneath me but because the ground looked like a never ending pit. Almost like space. Everything was black and drawn over in crayon to have landscape. It confused me to no end, trying to figure out what was and wasn't walls. It gave me a headache. There were things that were drawn on walls and things drawn on floors and no matter how hard I looked at those drawings I could never tell which they were. I did have a couple run ins with the walls because of this.

I finally reached the pink house that Ib and I had fallen into that dreaded toy box to get the key too. I didn't have the key myself but I was guessing that the door was already open. My hope was that the exit was somewhere in here. As I reached for the handle and pulled I was over joyed to find out that it was in fact open.

I walked through to see that the only thing in the room was a staircase leading down. I didn't hesitate once to go down, and unlike the ascent into what I was beginning to think was Mary's room before, I practically ran down the steps as well as my legs would allow me too.

The stairs were extremely long and the steps got steeper and steeper the further I went. Along with that the pink hue that decorated the walls was slowly fading darker and darker until I was once again surrounded by black, the only way I could tell where I was stepping was a line of red lights along the stair case that reminded me of the movie theaters in the real world.

I finally reached the bottom of the stairs and found that I was now standing in a very familiar room. It took me moment to realize that it was just a darker version of the gallery that I had been in before being sucked into this hell hole. All of the paintings were there with the exact same descriptions and all in the same place. I walked through, looking at all of the art work and cringing when I came across one of the pieces of art that had been trying to kill me before. At least they weren't moving this time.

The only painting that was moving was a huge wall to wall painting called "Fabricated World". I realized that this was the exit Ib had taken. The painting depicted a white art gallery, a brighter mirror to the one I stood in now. The only difference was that there were actual people walking around the gallery. All oblivious to the fact that I was watching them from inside the painting. I wondered if they could see me on the other side like I could see them.

I reached out to touch the painting, I expected my hand to go through it and grant me an exit to the real world, finally. But instead my hand just hit canvas, I pressed a little harder. My heart started to thunder in my chest. I knew this was the right exit, I could tell! Why couldn't I get out!

A loud thundering boom shook the ground and made me jump and fall back away from my only escape. I stared up, hoping there was a change now. I stood again and pressed both my hands to the painting but it was still nothing more then canvas.

"Why can't I get out?" I said, my voice was hysterical. Was I truly trapped here for eternity?! Was it because I was dead before?!

I pounded on the art. Yelling at nothing, I wanted out. I wanted to go outside and feel the fresh air again. I wanted to see a real person and talk to them. I wanted to see my friends. I wanted to go back to school and work on my art skills. I wanted to get out and find Ib and make sure she was okay. I needed out.

I slowly sank to the ground. Cupping my face in my hands.

_There is no way out._

I sat in my place for a few minutes. Wading neck deep in my despair and pain that were coming from my thoughts of never getting out. I finally decided that I would look around the gallery once more. Not looking for a different exit. No, I wasn't about to let myself hope that there was one and only be more crushed by the fact that there was none. I just wanted to find what that thundering noise was.

As I walked around slowly, inspecting all of the paintings I only found one difference. In the area where the hanging man picture had been there was no what looked like the back of a picture frame. It was indented into the wall, with two small holes for what I presumed to be eyeholes.

_Do I dare look through?_

Not the time to be indecisive. I told myself, I pressed my hands up against the wall as I looked through the two walls. Just in case I had to move fast away from the wall. Though as I peeked through I realized that it was a glimpse into the real world. Confusion gripped me tight, what was the point of this? To taunt me?!

Outside of the two holes I could see what looked like the basement of an art gallery. Boxes were stacked everywhere. Sculptures both with and without tarps on them. Everything was covered in at least ten layers of dust and even some had grime on them. How could curators let there precious pieces get to filthy? I may have not been the neatest person in the world but if I owned a famous piece of art work myself I would keep it clean all the time.

My only conclusion was that these holes were on a painting. How disturbing to think that really could be eyes watching you from behind canvas and paints. Though I suppose it being human eyes rather then one of those terrifying dolls wasn't nearly as unsettling.

I took a step back from the wall, I considered trying to find a way to break it down but decided against it. I highly doubted that would get me out of here and besides, there was nothing to destructive in this gallery, besides the palette knife I had in my pocket, to destroy something.

I sighed, it really was nothing more then a way to torment me with glimpses of what life is like on the other side. Even if a dusty art gallery basement isn't much of a sight. I suddenly regretted my thoughts, my word choice wasn't making anything easier on me, it felt as though I really were dead and was watching everything from beyond the grave.

I sat back down on the ground and let my head fall to my hands again, another long disappointed sigh escaping my lips. Would I ever get out of here? How long would it take me to go insane without any way of talking to a real person. Mary didn't count, she wouldn't know anything from the outside world. I couldn't talk to her about movies or music or even other pieces of art besides Guertena's, that would certainly drive me insane. Hell, just looking at the little painted girl made me conscious of how fast my sanity was deteriorating.

_Would I never see Ib again? _

That question finally kicked me off the edge, I slipped down so only my head was resting on the wall. I couldn't stop myself from wallowing in my anguish at the moment. I didn't see any reason to.

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**A/N: So I guess I made Garry slightly depressed in this chapter, but who wouldn't be if they found out they would never see the light of day again? Anyway, hope you liked it. It's a nice little kick off as to what's going on over in the Fabricated World.**

**So I realized I totally forgot to bring forward some important points about what happened in those nine years of Ib's life in the first chapter. Fair warning to you guys, I don't want this to look terrible as if I had randomly come up with the idea but I will be focusing a bit more on her telling her room mates about what happened in chapter three. Though the story will continue a long and you will meet some more members of the outcast house :)  
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**Thanks for the fav's and follows to all those who have read this, I really appreciate it and any words about this story will encourage me to continue working on it. Thanks much for reading :)  
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